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Wally set his glass and cigar down in the appropriate places before standing up. “Well, welcome aboard. I’d better make sure the new mother’s okay.” He walked off toward the bedroom to leave his new accomplice staring into the fire once more.
############“First, I would like to thank you again for agreeing to meet with me, General.” Halstead, hat still in hand, took the chair indicated by his Prussian host, who sat stiffly in his own chair next to the fireplace. “I would like to thank you, Corporal, for coming to Berlin, especially so recently after Christmas,” General Walther von Lüttwitz replied as he tugged at a crease in his Reichswehr uniform. “I’m flattered that the world’s most famous man of the moment has come to me on a personal visit. I am extremely curious, I must admit though, as to the nature of your business.” “Well, I was just in the right place at the right time, General. Herr Hitler is a sufficient way to address me, by the way.” He looked over at the butler, then told his host, “The nature of my business is extremely private.” Lüttwitz nodded, and glanced back at the butler preparing a cup of tea for his employer. “Could you leave us, Ludwig? Herr Hitler and I would like to be alone.” “Certainly, General.” Ludwig left the den almost immediately, “almost” due to the fact that he took care to release a pair of window curtains that fell across a field of snow and shrouded the two seated men in secrecy and darkness. Lüttwitz thanked his servant, then turned back to his guest once the door had closed. “Well, to the point. What is your business?” “My business is Germany, General. I imagine that you are as unhappy with the course of events over the past year as I am.” |